Wood-cutting saw blades, and particular wood-cutting band saw blades, serve a critical function in performing semi-finish re-sawing of wood work pieces, such as wood cants, into boards in the fencing, pallet and other industries. A typical prior art wood-cutting band saw blade is illustrated in FIG. 1. Each tooth of the saw blade of FIG. 1 defines a gullet depth D, a pitch distance P between successive teeth, a first gullet radius R1 formed at the lower base of the clearance surface(s), a second gullet radius R2 formed at the base of the rake face, and a gullet transition radius R3 formed between the second gullet radius R2 and the base of the rake face (or primary rake angle). Typically, R2 defines a minimum radius (Rmin) formed at the base of the gullet. The illustrated wood cutting band saw blade defines a constant pitch P, a single level set (i.e., the set teeth are all set to the same set magnitude), an aggressive rake face angle (e.g., about 10° or greater), a primary clearance surface defining a primary clearance angle of about 30° (but no secondary clearance surface), and the following additional characteristics:    D/P<35%;    R1>D;    R1>R2;    R2 (or Rmin)/D<15%; and    R1>D>R2.
One of the drawbacks associated with such prior art wood-cutting band saw blades is that blade life is limited due to fatigue related failures caused in part by the primary stress riser (R2) being located at the base of the rake face. The R2 region is a critical stress zone due to band tension in combination with cutting forces impinging on the tooth edge. As a result, this type of tooth configuration, particularly when subjected to relatively high-cycle wood-cutting applications, can be subject to premature band breakage and/or other fatigue-related problems. In addition, such traditional tooth geometries amplify forces at the cutting edge by having a relatively thin upper tooth cross-section/set bend plane that promotes “set collapse” and the subsequent reduction in overall kerf or blade clearance. Also, by traditionally maintaining a uniform pitch distance P, the resulting forcing frequency creates excessive vibration and noise that prevents consistent loading of the teeth. This random pattern of tooth loading results in a rough sawn surface that has difficulty maintaining a consistent cutting plane through regions of varying wood density, such as knots.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to overcome one or more of the above-described drawbacks and/or disadvantages of the prior art.